Jocelyn Harte

Jocelyn Harte ‘22 has always known she was an artist. Her mother, an art historian and teacher, involved Harte in an array of her classes and introduced her to various mediums at an early age.

“She worked with a wide range of ages, so I got to experiment with different types of paints. A lot of collage and crafts. It was a huge variety of projects. She’s also an art historian, so her main thing is teaching art history along with making art,” Harte said.

Although art has always been Harte’s main focus, she began to seriously develop her skills during her freshman year.

“I have always been involved, but I think I got really serious about it at the start of high school. I really invested time into it,” Harte said.

As she was developing her artistic style, she drew inspiration from studying the “old masters” as well as contemporary artists emerging on social media. Harte also enjoys collaborating with friends that share her artistic interests.

“A lot of my friends are artists, and I’ve made a lot of friends online through art. There is a shared passion for it and we have a lot of the same struggles with technical aspects,” Harte said. “We can help each other and think of new ideas.”

Harte finds a sense of belonging and understanding within the artist community, no matter their skill level or style. Participating in City High’s Art Club or other art classes allow students with similar interests to gather, collaborate, and find common ground.

Harte has already begun building a career around her work.

“I’d like to be able to do what I love and earn money,” Harte said. “It’s kind of like a balancing act, one without the other doesn’t work as much.”

Apart from financial success, Harte strives to enjoy the artistic process and produce a result that she is proud of.

“It doesn’t have to be [formal or prestigious]. It’s just sharing what you love, like anything else,” Harte said.

Naaron Cardona

Naaron Cardona ‘23 started developing as an artist in his sophomore year. Through participating in City High’s Art Club and experimenting on his own, he began to create his artistic style using acrylic paints, printmaking, and collage. Cardona draws inspiration and motivation from artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat and The Shoe Surgeon.

“[The Shoe Surgeon] actually just takes apart shoes and stitches on them and makes them completely different,” Cardona said.

Inspired by emerging sneaker culture, Cardona transports his designs onto shoes, combining everyday fashion with artistry. After high school, he hopes to build a career as an artist, although his main goals don’t center around money.

“I think it’s mostly self-fulfillment. I’m not really in it for the money,” Cardona said. “Just expressing my ideas, and inspiring other people to do art too is my main goal.”

Navaro Nehring

Navaro Nehring ‘22 has been creating art from a very young age. As soon as he could use a pen, he began drawing stick figures and developing his artistic presence. Nehring’s parents are naturally artistic people who encouraged and supported his interests. As a family, they often visited art museums, so Nehring grew to love the look of traditional paintings. He was influenced by American abstract painters such as Arthur Dove and Georgia O’Keeffe, as well as many mid 20th century French artists.

“I really like artists that show their own creativity and do something that expresses themselves in a way that’s unique to them,” Nehring said.

As an artist, Nehring strives to paint an image or a place more realistically than a photo could. His artwork captures the feeling he had when he was there, whether that means creating a realistic depiction or deviating from the images dramatically.

“I’m not always in favor of doing things that are realistic. When I see something that’s a really beautiful image, I want to capture that moment more realistically than a photo could. I think that’s what draws me to artwork,” Nehring said.

Moving forward, Nehring does not plan to make a living off of his work. His artistic interests are for his enjoyment, so he does not wish to use them as a means of financial success.

“It doesn’t really have to do with making a profit out of it or benefiting yourself, like in material ways…You do it for yourself in terms of actually making physical artwork,” Nehring explained.

Instead, Nehring hopes to study art history. Whether it’s fine art or everyday items, he is interested in studying artists’ design processes.

“Looking at art and examining what it’s doing, and really why the person made it the way they did, is something that really fascinates me,” Nehring said.